Unavoidable Secrets Part 6

Summary: The long night continues, until the police arrive with more bad news.

Rating: R.

Disclaimer: Dave; pyschomaniac, and incompetent police officers are mine. Great! I get to keep the screw-ups, lucky me.

Thank you's: To Morgan for her reviews, Angel Star for her constant support (I told you to read and review her fic, The Legend Of Of The Laxcus. Did you? No. DO IT!!!) And to all those who have provided inspiration, including someone French (anyone who knows me, you know who I mean) and all my friends.

Author's Notes: I've finished school, so yay for me. One more month of exams and I'll be done forever...until college that is.


Tommy had hoped that Kim's confession may have led to other things. However, she had almost immediately fallen asleep, and looked as though she needed a good night's rest for once. So he had returned to the living room, to find that he was the only person awake in the apartment apart from Zack, who looked as though he wanted to be left alone. Tommy sat in one of the rickety chairs, and thought deeply about what had happened for the rest of the night.

He was uninterrupted until four o'clock, when he heard Kim moving about in the kitchen. She walked into the room stiffly, then struggled to stifle a laugh when she realized the meagre number of awake people.

"So much for protecting us," she said quietly. "You guys are worse than the police."

"Are they that bad?" Tommy asked in the same quiet voice. She shrugged, and replied,

"You would have thought they'd have caught him by now...still, they can't be everywhere. There are other people out there."

And with that she disappeared into a room that Tommy presumed was either the bathroom or her bedroom. She reappeared a few minutes later, and said, "I really thought we'd lost him, and then we got the notes... I don't know why he thinks I still want him, but I wish he'd just get the message and go away."

"Where was the postmark from?" he asked, but was interrupted by Jason snorting and turning over in his sleep. Kim gave him a glance, then beckoned to Tommy to follow him into the other room, which must be her bedroom.

She sat on her bed and sighed. "That's the problem. It was hand-delivered. Both of ours were...which means he must have been watching us ever since we got back here, and I never even noticed."

He sat down beside her, and told her, "You thought that you got rid of him, and so you didn't need to worry anymore. None of this is your fault."

Kim gave a sarcastic laugh. "Yes, it is. There's no use trying to get me off all charges, I'm as much to blame as he is."

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked curiously. He had noticed the way that Kim had downplayed any talk of her relationship with this Dave person, and he didn't want to pry, but surely it was better to get it all out of her system, so that she could get on with the rest of the day without being distracted. She shrugged, and said,

"I put up with it for too long, I didn't ask anyone for help, I stayed in Florida when I had the chance to come back to California more than once. Let's face it, I could have gotten out of my relationship with him more than once, but I didn't because I was too scared. And then I did, and look where it got me."

"So, you regret leaving him?" Tommy couldn't believe what Kim was saying, that she didn't want to go?

"No, it was the best thing I ever did. I'm not saying that I loved him or anything, but look what happened. I got myself stabbed in the leg, almost ruined Zack's love-" She stopped, realising what she was about to say, but Tommy wasn't about to let up on what he thought he heard.

"Zack? A girl? Who?" He asked, shocked. If anything, it was to get Kim's mind off the events in Florida. He was beginning to think it had been a mistake to bring it up again, she looked close to tears and hadn't met his eyes once since they had entered her room.

"Would you believe me if I said Angela Kiernnon?" Kim smiled, enjoying the look of shock and surprise playing on her ex-boyfriend's face.

"What? How?" He asked. Zack had chased Angela for over three years, but no-one had ever thought that they would ever become a couple. Now it seemed that they had joined together, but when had this happened?

"Zack came down to visit me, and the first night he was there he asked me to take him to see his partner dance company. We went, and one of the principals was the lady herself. We went backstage, and let's just say that the feelings were reciprocated this time."

"The first night...does she know about what's his name?" Tommy asked. Kim sighed, and said,

"Yes, we had to tell her. She was suspicious when he turned up at her apartment with a face that looked as though a three year old had painted on it with bruise-coloured paint. I was in hospital, so Zack took it upon himself to tell her. Wasn't best pleased at the time, I can admit, but it's done, and now everyone knows it's just as well."

Tommy just sat there, with his head in his hands. Finally, he looked up to realise that Kim was watching him with a strange smile on her face. "What?"

"I was just wondering...nah, forget it." She turned forty-five degrees to rest her head against the wall. "I might try and get a bit more sleep, I doubt if I'll be left alone for more than two seconds once the day starts."

But her eyes remained open, and her expression was far away from a tiny apartnment in Angel Grove. Tommy mentally knew that she was reliving whatever had gone on in Florida, especially when he could see her shudder. Finally, he broke the silence again, saying, "Do your parents know about all of this?"

She looked at him, and said quietly, "Yeah, but they haven't exactly been a fountain of help. Dad makes me check in once every couple days, but my mom refuses to believe that her precious daughter could have gotten herself into such a mess."

He immediately dropped the subject, and got up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna relieve Zack. he should try and get some rest as well. Do you have another bedroom or anything?"

"You must be kidding. Tell him if he wants to sleep somewhere, try the bathtub," she told him with her eys closed once again, and within two seconds of Tommy's closing the door she was asleep.
* * *

At eight o'clock, the seven sleeping people were awakened by the insistent ringing of the doorbell. Zack and Tommy, who were still the only two awake. went to the door and opened it.

"Sergeant Carter," Zack said. "Nice to see you on this fine morning."

"Yes, Zack, whatever you say," the weary looking policeman said. He stepped aside to reveal his colleague, another uniformed man. "I've had to involve one of the detectives, now that we know that he's definitely been in Angel Grove. Where's Kim?"

"I'll go and get her," Trini said, and slipped into Kim's room. Zack led the two officers to the kitchen table, and their friends subtly arranged themselves in the living room so that they could hear what was going on. They parted to make way for Kim, who strode from her room through the living room and into the kitchen, muttering to Trini as she went, "This is not going to be pretty."

"Kim, you remember Detective Mc Connachie don't you?" Sergeant Carter said to her. She nodded, and said without formalities,

"Have you found him yet?"

"We believe that he's staying on the east side of the city. Whereabouts is still unknown."

"How do you know that?" Zack asked. "For all you know he could be anywhere. We haven't exactly got all the reasoning in the world to believe you, you couldn't protect Kim in Florida, and you can't protect us now."

Jason and Billy looked at each other. Zack had never been an aggressive person, but what he had witnessed, what he had gone through to save a friend would change any man. "We should leave," Billy whispered. "They should be able to talk to the police without knowing we can hear every word that they're saying."

In reality, Billy wanted to get away from Trini, and what he believed to be some sort of sick power game she was playing between him and Jason. True, he had fantasised over Trini more times than he cared to admit in his high school years, but they were exactly that. High school years. He had Cara now, and he knew that she wanted him, and he wanted her. End of story. Or was it?

"Good idea, Billy. But a couple of us should stay, to make sure that they're alright," Rocky said. "I would stay, but I have to get to a class."

"Me and Tommy will stay," Jason said, looking to his friend for conformation. "The rest of you, stay quiet and we'll be in touch later."

So Billy, Trini, Rocky, Adam and Aisha said their hasty goodbyes to Kim and Zack, and went out of the apartment.
* * *

Jason and Tommy sat shamelessly eavesdropping for over half an hour. From this, they had learned that Dave Gray had been seen in the local supermarket two days previously on the east side, hence the police's belief that he was staying there. They were also reluctant to carry on with the protection service, saying that it was unilkely he would try anything.

"How can they say that?" Jason asked. "They've seen him, and he's sending them notes saying that he's watching them. Oh yeah, I believe that he's not going to try anything, I think not."

"I wish I could say I'm sure they have their reasons, but I'm as stumped as you are," Tommy said. "So what, they're just gonna let Kim and Zack walk around like sitting ducks?"

"Yeah, well Kim won't exactly be a sitting duck when she's got you to protect her, will she?" Jason said wickedly. After being on the receiving end of an evil glare, he added, "Sorry, that was below the belt considering the circumstances. But after all this is over, what do you think? Do you think you'll try again?"

"No idea," he said. "I think I'll see whether the abusive boyfriend has n't completely put her off men for life before I decide anything."

Jason gave him a doubtful look, but said nothing, as Kim and zack said their weary goodbyes to the policemen and returned to the living room.

"I have officialy lost faith in America's police force," Zack said, annoyed, as he flopped into the armchair.

"You only just did? I decided that six months ago," Kim said as she leaned against the doorframe. Catching their two friends puzzled look, she told them, "They're withdrawing the protection; not enough funds. We're to keep the lowest profile that we can, I can't find a job, Zack has to quit the dance company, and we have to report anything at all suspicious."

"You are, of course, kidding," Jason said. Zack shook his head, and said,

"This nightmare just got a whole lot worse. How are we supposed to survive now? No income, we can't go anywhere-"

"You two can come stay at my place," Tommy offered. "I have two spare bedrooms that are going begging, and I don't mind being Mr Protective Man if needs be. He shouldn't be able to find you guys at my place if we leave quickly."

Zack looked as if he would accept, but Kim shook her head. "I'm not getting you involved in all this as well. It was bad enough with Zack getting hurt, I don't want someone else I care about dragged into my mess."

Tommy walked over to her, and said quietly, "You don't have a choice in this. If there's anything that I can do at all to protect you, I'm going to do it. You know that, so accept and we'll all be safer."

"It's a good idea, Kim," Zack said.

She looked into Tommy's eyes for a moment, and, apparently satisfied with whatever she found there, said reluctantly, "Okay...just give me a minute to pack."